Never Said Goodbye

'Never Said Goodbye' Foreword by J. Anderson In August of 1956, two days before my 7th birthday, a policeman came to our home. Instinctively, I hid behind my grandfather's trailer as he knocked on our door. My grandmother answered and told the officer where he could find my mother. I heard the officer's regret as he told her my dad was lost. Lost? Where? It was a closed casket and suddenly, he was gone. He never said goodbye, nor did I. Fifty-five years later, every day as I drive to work, I pass his cemetery. I greet him every morning and again, on my return home. To this day, it's still difficult to fathom how this came to be; this part of us, this father who once saved me from drowning in the Mississippi, who met his own fate by succumbing to the very threat he once saved me from. I dedicate my music to you Dad. I'm proud of my work. I'm an older man now. I also became a father with two fine sons; one who bears your name. I'm a musician and I was once a sailor, like you. I'm proud to be part Cherokee as you and your mother were. And although we never said goodbye, I know in some great circle, we'll meet again. 'Cherokee Morning Song' Traditional Cherokee Song My paternal grandmother was Cherokee. She lived in Illinois; we lived in Minnesota. My memories of her are islands of recollections strung together, at best. But the images I have of her are those of a quiet spoken, dark skinned woman whose braided gray hair encircled the crown of her head like that of a tarnished silver halo. She would be up long before her family to make breakfast on a wood stove; a breakfast so large, you scarcely knew where to where to begin. During the day, she'd quietly move about her garden, gathering whatever was ripe and ready for picking; holding the hem of her apron while using it as a hammock to cradle the bounty she'd picked. Her gentle smile belied the hard life she'd lived but her voice was comforting and soft. And her kindness was evident every Christmas when a box of presents would arrive, without fail; all neatly wrapped and bowed with our names affixed to each. I wished I'd known her better as I wished I'd known my father better. I'd have learned much. This song is my only way of thanking her for the many ways she loved and graced us; the grandchildren she seldom saw but always loved. 'Cherokee Morning Song' (Translation: 'I am of the Great Spirit, it is so.') (Lyrics) Words and music based on original tribal song We n' de ya ho We n' de ya ho We n' de ya We n' de ya Ho ho ho ho He ya ho He ya ho Ya ya ya We n' de ya ho We n' de ya ho We n' de ya We n' de ya Ho ho ho ho He ya ho He ya ho Ya ya ya We n' de ya ho We n' de ya ho We n' de ya We n' de ya Ho ho ho ho He ya ho He ya ho Ya ya ya We n' de ya ho We n' de ya ho We n' de ya We n' de ya Ho ho ho ho He ya ho He ya ho Ya ya ya 'People Get Ready' by Curtis Mayfield Ok, so what made me think I could ever do this 1965 Curtis Mayfield composition justice? It's only been covered by the greatest contemporary vocalists of our time. In what parallel universe would I attempt to improve on the efforts of people like Aretha Franklin, Bob Marley, Bruce Springsteen, Rod Stewart, Jeff Beck, John Denver, Phil Collins, Steve Perry, The Chambers Brothers, The Walker Brothers, or The Everly Brothers? The answer is simple. I'm not trying to improve perfection. This is an iconic example of when perfect lyrics meets perfect music. It's been stuck in my head for as long as I can remember and it just doesn't matte